Matt Barnes, NBA Star, Calls 'Basketball Wives' Show 'Biggest Mistake I Ever Made'

Over the past couple of years, NBA star Matt Barnes has found himself embroiled in a messy divorce with his ex-wife Gloria Govan. In case that name rings a bell for reality TV aficionados, it should because Govan starred alongside her husband on VH1’s scintillating series, Basketball Wives. Though Barnes was only on for the first season, Govan continued to set her trail ablaze for two seasons before later joining Basketball Wives L.A. for an additional two.

This past Monday (Sept. 19), Barnes was a guest on “The Vertical Podcast with J.J. Redick”, where he candidly spoke about his time on Basketball Wives, and why he considers it to be the biggest regret of his life.

"The biggest mistake I ever made was doing that stupid Basketball Wives show," he said, "because it’s just such a negative, untrue, fantasy of what our lives are like. Our lives are nothing like that, but people live and swear by that reality TV. None of it is true. Nothing you see on these reality TV—not even just Basketball Wives—it’s all staged. They say it’s unscripted. It’s not. Everything is scripted."

Barnes continued to elaborate on his tenure by ruminating on his reticence when approached by Shaquille O’Neal during their time in Phoenix about doing the show. "I was with Shaq in Phoenix when Shaq brought it to me at practice like, 'Yo, [my wife] Shaunie wants to do a show. Will you let Gloria be on?'" he said. "I was like, 'Oh, hell no. What are you talking about?' Like we had just had the kids and everything."

As the conversation continued, Barnes revealed when he realized he made a bad decision in joining the cast of Basketball Wives.

"We were in Orlando when we first started filming, and that was when Tiger Woods was going through all that stuff," he said. "So the first time and last time they filmed me—because this was the only show I did—[they asked], 'So what do you think about Tiger?' And I’m like, 'Whoa, where did this come from?' Like, 'Do you hang out with Tiger?' I’m just like, 'Huh?' Like, 'What do you and your teammates do on the road?' And then they went to a little cut where, like, I took my mic off like, 'I’m done.'"

You gotta feel Matt’s pain. First the show, then he watched his former friend, Derek Fisher swoop in and take away his girl. That’s tough to digest. Take a listen to the podcast here.